Dell refreshes XPS 13 and XPS 15, and debuts XPS 12 tablet hybrid

A sleek, premium line of PCs gets another member that's more laptop than tablet.

Dell launched some serious notebooks when it came out with the XPS line, and now the company continues to improve on already solid products. The Dell XPS 13 and XPS 15 are getting a refresh, updating their processors and packing more storage into their thin frames. In addition, Dell announced the much-rumored XPS 12, a 2-in-1 which seems to be the first of what will likely be many Surface Pro 4 competitors.

If you were a fan of the XPS line's sleek design, you'll be happy to know that Dell didn't mess with it. Both the XPS 13 and 15 remain super thin and very light notebooks made of carbon fiber and aluminum, featuring InfinityEdge displays that reduce the bezel around the touchscreens to nearly invisible sidebars. The XPS 15 actually slimmed down even further, now being closer in size to a 14-inch notebook.

At 4 pounds and between 11 and 17mm thick, Dell claims it has the smallest footprint of any 15-inch notebook. However, svelte doesn't come without compromise: both the XPS 13 and XPS 15 still have their webcams placed at the bottom of the display, a decision that baffled us when Ars reviewed the XPS 13.

The XPS 13's QHD display.

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XPS 13: keyboard.

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XPS 13: trackpad.

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Ports on one side of the XPS 13.

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More ports on the XPS 13.

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XPS 13 SD card slot.

The InfinityEdge display makes the bezels nearly nonexistent on the XPS 13.

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The bottom bezel is the largest; on the left side of the machine, it holds the webcam.

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Soft touch paint on the keyboard deck of the XPS 13.

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The XPS 15 with its 4K display.

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It has nearly the same design as the XPS 13, just slimmed down further.

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InfinityEdge display on the XPS 15.

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Connectivity on the XPS 15.

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More ports on the XPS 15.

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Both the XPS 15 and XPS 13 have Dell logos on their lids.

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The awkwardly placed webcam on the XPS 15.

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The XPS 15 will come in either an FHD display model or one with a 4K display.

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Dell designed the XPS 15 to have nearly the same footprint as a 14-inch notebook.

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All of Dell's notebooks, from left to right: XPS 15, XPS 13, XPS 12.

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The biggest differences, however, are under the hood. Both the XPS 13 and 15 are now powered by Intel's new 6th generation Skylake processors, available in Core i3, i5, and i7 versions, and come with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of PCle SSD storage. Still, the base model of the XPS 13 comes with just 4GB of RAM, so you'll have to pay extra for the upgrade to 16GB.

The XPS 15 still comes with a 4K display option, while the 13 sticks to QHD+ at 3200 x 1800 resolution. Dell told Ars the company wanted to make the XPS 15 an all-purpose notebook that appealed to creatives and gamers, so they added an optional Nvidia GDDR5 GPU to the notebook. The display will show a minimum of 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut scale too, which means the rendered colors will be vibrant and always accurate.

All of the new models will come with Thunderbolt 3, which use the same Type-C connectors as USB 3.1. This means that the ports support not only Thunderbolt, but full 10Gbps USB 3.1 gen 2 speeds. Each model also has bit of battery boost: Dell claims the XPS 13 can get 18 hours on a single charge, while the XPS 15 will get up to 16 hours of life depending on the model.

Dell's new XPS 12, which replaces the company's older, "flippable" convertible laptop, attempts to make a product like Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 even better. In the early stages of the XPS 12's development, Dell says it asked its customers if a 2-in-1 could be improved—most of them said keyboard experience is paramount. Since most of them also claim to primarily use 2-in-1s as laptop replacements rather than tablet replacements, Dell decided to focus on making the XPS 12's keyboard as solid as possible. Developed from the company's corporate Latitude line of notebooks, the keyboard has a full layout design, with a solid 1.9mm of travel between the keys, as well as a Precision touchpad.

The new Dell XPS 12 hybrid 2-in-1.

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Where the Dell XPS 12 connects to its keyboard dock.

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The keyboard was inspired by Dell's corporate Latitude line of notebooks.

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Precision trackpad; the keys are also backlit.

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The two parts are easily attachable and detachable with one hand.

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The magnetic nodes that attach to the device are tucked into the docking slot.

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The full-sized keyboard, featuring 1.9mm of travel between the keys.

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The magnetic nodes on the device which attach to the keyboard.

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The XPS 12 all folded down.

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The docking slot has an interesting design—it keeps the device propped up, but you cannot bend it backwards like other detachable keyboards would let you do.

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The back of the Dell XPS 12, where the device meets the keyboard.

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The keyboard is spacious and isn't too heavy either.

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Another important factor was how easily the device connected to the keyboard base. Dell eliminated any need for two-handed contact in the XPS 12: there are no latches or hinges where the device attaches to the base. You drop the device into the slot at a 90-degree angle and it slides into the proper place. To remove, you just pull the device up and it slides back out.

As for the tablet itself, the XPS 12 boasts 12.5-inch full HD display, and you can upgrade to a sharp, 3840 x 2160-resolution 4K touchscreen as well. The tablet also has an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera, and support for Dell Pen Active although the device itself doesn't come with a stylus. It has not one, but two Thunderbolt 3 ports, so you can easily charge the XPS 12 while still using it with a connected peripheral or while charging another device of yours.

Both the Dell XPS 13 and XPS 15 will replace the previous models that were released earlier this year. The XPS 13 starts at $799 and the XPS starts at $999, and they're available to order today.

The XPS will start at $999, bundled with its keyboard and a protective case, and is available in two configurations in mid-November: one with an FHD display, a 2.7GHz Intel Core m5-6Y54 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD storage, and another with a 4K display and 256GB SSD storage with the same processor and RAM.

Valentina Palladino
Valentina is the Associate Reviewer for Ars Technica, covering all gadgets with a focus on mobile devices and wearables. She has a soft spot for Chromebooks. Twitter@valentinalucia